Honoring the shoulders we stand on and imagining the future we are called to build together. ✊🏽
Global superstar Becky G, legendary activist Olga Talamante, and UCSC graduate Anahi Matias Santiago shared the stage at El Centro: Chicanx Latinx Resource Center, UCSC’s Chicane Latiné Year-End Ceremony to remind graduates that their courage and joy will build the future. Special thank you to Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, UC Santa Cruz.
¡Lo lograron, Class of 2026! 🎉 🎓
🎥 Video description: Over a montage of scenic campus views and smiling graduates, the inspiring voices of Becky G, Olga Talamante, and Anahi Matias Santiago echo across a crowded outdoor ceremony. Excited UC Santa Cruz students in caps and gowns listen intently to words of encouragement.
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The UC Santa Cruz story is one built on courage—the courage to be different, to question the accepted, and dare to make the world a better place. And it shows.
UC Santa Cruz was founded in 1965 as the movement away from the conservative '50s was in full swing and America was experiencing a transformation. The founding faculty, administrators, and students embraced and embodied this change. They were open and revolutionary in their thinking—more than mere radicals, they dared to imagine a living and learning environment that would foster a community whose
06/16/2026
For over three decades, El Centro and the Dolores Huerta Research Center have helped launch innovative research, strengthened student learning and development, and invested in the next generation of scholars, leaders, and changemakers.
Together, El Centro: Chicanx Latinx Resource Center, UCSC and Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, UC Santa Cruz foster joy, belonging, critical inquiry, and community for students at UC Santa Cruz. They create opportunities for students that support their holistic growth and success.
UC Santa Cruz is proud to announce a new fundraising initiative to advance the work of these critical spaces: Latiné Futures. ✊🏽
Join us in supporting the next generation of leaders at the link in the comments.
06/16/2026
We’re still dancing in the mirror and singing in the shower thinking about the Chicane Latiné Year-End Celebration! 💃🎤
What stays with us most is the overwhelming sense of love and community. Looking across the field and seeing thousands of family members, friends, mentors, faculty, staff, and loved ones cheering on our graduates was a powerful reminder that none of us get here alone. Every graduate carries with them a community that believed in them, sacrificed for them, and celebrated alongside them.
We were honored to hear from graduating student Anahi Matias Santiago, whose words reflected the journeys, dedication, and aspirations of the Class of 2026. We were also inspired by the wisdom and leadership of activist Olga Talamante and global superstar Becky G, whose intergenerational messages reminded us to stay rooted in our values, honor the shoulders we stand on, and continue building a more just and hopeful future.
Thanks to El Centro: Chicanx Latinx Resource Center, UCSC and Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, UC Santa Cruz and the speakers for helping put on a historic and joyful event. ¡Felicidades, Slugs! You’ve officially graduated! This is the day your ancestors dreamed of for you, and we could not be more proud. 💙💛🎓
It’s Becky G at UCSC! 🇲🇽 💙 💛
Global superstar and activist Becky G surprised Banana Slugs with an emotional and inspiring keynote speech at El Centro’s 54th Annual Chicane Latiné Year-End Ceremony!
Becky reminded graduates that their accomplishments are deeply connected to the determination, sacrifices, and dreams of those who came before them, and also encouraged them to carry these legacies forward with creativity, passion, and joy as they step into the next stage of their lives.
Join us in celebrating these graduates by contributing to the campus spaces that have supported them on their academic journey. Donate to Latiné Futures, a fundraising initiative that will support the ongoing work of Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, UC Santa Cruz and El Centro: Chicanx Latinx Resource Center, UCSC: https://bit.ly/4aNtFqe
¡Felicidades, Slugs y muchísimas gracias, Becky! 🎓
🎥 Video description: Becky G, dressed in a cap and gown, delivers an inspiring keynote speech. She discusses the resilience, community, and pride that supported students along their educational journeys.
🎓🌎 My Voice Will: Drive Meaningful Policy Change That Protects and Empowers Agriculture Workers Globally
Part five of our 2026 grad profile series features Sofia Trigueros Ufford (Cowell ‘26, agroecology and Latin American & Latino studies), who is dedicated to agricultural justice. Sofia’s passion was first ignited as a child when her father would tell stories about the working conditions on banana plantations. From documenting labor rights with the Center for Farmworker Families as a Rachel Carson College Fellow, to lobbying lawmakers in Washington, D.C. for the Opportunities in Organics Act, Sofia has spent her time at UC Santa Cruz channeling passion into real-world action.
Next year, Sofia is volunteering to serve with AmeriCorps and beginning a public policy program with The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy to prepare for a future in labor law.
🎥 Video description: Sofia wears a graduation cap and gown while walking around campus, including at the farm with lush crops in the background. She reflects on her many accomplishments at UC Santa Cruz.
🎓🎭 My Voice Will: Uplift Others Higher Than Myself
Part four of our 2026 grad profile series features Alyssa Windom (Porter ‘26, history of art and visual culture), who is changing the world through art and advocacy. Beyond holding leadership positions in the Black Student Union and the Student Union Governance Board, Alyssa volunteers with Engaging Education and performs with the Kasama Ballroom Dance Troupe. She also wrote two original plays produced at UCSC—Something Stupid and Who Can I Run To—winning a 2026 Dharma Grace Creative Writing Award for the latter. Alyssa plans to continue uplifting others through representation in media and advocacy.
🎥 Video description: Alyssa wears a graduation cap and gown while walking around campus, including near the Theatre Arts building. She reflects on her many accomplishments at UC Santa Cruz.
06/11/2026
The best pollinators can drive evolutionary changes in flowers, new study finds Researchers find hummingbirds to be better pollinators of mountain flowers than bees, prompting the plants to adopt traits that favor the fast, feathered carriers over the fuzzy, buzzy ones
🎓🇲🇽 My Voice Will: Preserve Historical Truths
Part three of our 2026 grad profile series features Jamie Penilla (Kresge ‘26, history and Spanish studies). As a The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz Undergraduate Research Fellow Jamie conducted fieldwork to lead her research project, “Gentrification and Aesthetics in Mexico City.” Her project examines the cultural dimensions of gentrification in Mexico City, with a particular focus on sociolinguistic change, urban aesthetics, and the distribution of green space. In the fall, Jamie is headed to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to pursue a master's degree in library and information science.
🎥 Video description: Jamie wears a graduation cap and gown while walking around campus, including inside Stevenson Library. She reflects on her years of archival research at UC Santa Cruz and shares her future plans.
06/10/2026
From writing songs on her dorm room floor to landing a residency with the San Francisco Jazz Festival, alumna August Lee Stevens (Merril ‘22) is making her mark on the Bay Area music scene.
Stevens entered UC Santa Cruz without intending to pursue music. However, at the start of her second quarter, she started songwriting to beat the blues that can come with the rainy Santa Cruz winter. After writing her first single, “Senses,” in her dorm, she realized performing was her true calling.
Stevens found community and purpose in student organizations like the African American Theatre Arts Troupe (AATA) under Professor Don Williams. After taking on leadership roles at AATAT, Stevens started advocating more for Black students and students of color on campus.
Today, those passions and lessons remain with her. In addition to performing around the Bay and releasing her latest album earlier this year, Stevens now serves the creative community directly as a financial aid coordinator for California College of the Arts.
Read more about Stevens’ story at the link in the comments.
🎓🔭 My Voice Will: Create Supportive Environments Where Excellence Can Thrive
Part two of our 2026 grad profile series features UC Santa Cruz’s first Olympian Isabelle “Izzy” Connor (Crown ‘26, astrophysics). Izzy knew she wanted to study the stars at 14 when she was traveling the world for rhythmic gymnastics and would feel grounded whenever she looked up at the night sky. At UCSC, she published two papers advancing our understanding of galaxy dynamics, including a groundbreaking discovery about how energy is transported through space. Izzy is a 2025 Barry Goldwater Scholar and received the Kenneth and Ann Thimann Scholarship while at UCSC.
In the fall, Izzy will pursue her Ph.D. at Princeton as a President's fellow supported by the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship.
🎥 Video description: Izzy wears a graduation cap and gown while walking around campus, including near Thimann Labs. She reflects on her years of plasma astrophysics research at UC Santa Cruz and shares her future plans.
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